The Heritage Room is now closed for the winter. If you would like a tour or would like to book a group tour during this time please come by the township office or contact us at 705-389-2842 or edc@township.mckellar.on.ca.

The McKellar Historical Committee will have an information table set up at the 10th Annual Barb Kerr 50 Plus Lifestyle Expo to be held at the Parry Sound Curling Club on Tuesday, September 17th from 10 AM to 2 PM.

Come get information on the various projects underway by the Historical Committee and find information on the Evelyn Watkins Moore Heritage Room. There will even be a few artifacts on display from the museum.

The McKellar Historical Committee, working with the Recreation Committee and the Economic Development Committee, hosted the two grade 3/4 classes of Ms. Cooney and Mrs. Downing from McDougall School on June 12th for a McKellar Pioneer Day class trip.

The Historical Committee provided the students with a tour through the Evelyn Watkins Moore Heritage Room and had them guessing on the uses for artifacts and undertaking a treasure hunt through the room. Below are pictures of the students touring the room.

The Loyal Orange Lodge was one of the first establishments in the McKellar community and some of the oldest documents are the membership certificates of its members. You can now see the digitized versions of these on this site at the Loyal Orange Lodges page. The original documents are followed in order by the envelopes in which they were packaged. Note that the pictures can be seen somewhat larger if you are to right click on them and select 'Open Picture in New Tab' or 'Open Picture in New Window'. Some of these documents are quite creased, making the digitization that much more complicated. A few were quite damaged. However, they all are very elaborate documents. While the digitization process will see that they are handled less but still can be enjoyed, the actual physical documents are quite something to see. From the paper quality to the seals and ribbons, these are really great treasures for the Evelyn Watkins Heritage Room.

The McKellar Historical Committee has been actively seeking to preserve the local history in two ways.The first is by digitizing the old township records. The photo to the right is a digitization of the 1873 council minute book. With a document camera, the book itself is not damaged in the process and we are left with high quality images of the pages.Secondly, the Historical Committee is beginning to use a digital recorder to chronicle conversations and stories of village elders about the community. These recordings of memories will in time make up a database of local history. If you have history to share or know of someone who would be willing to share their local history, please contact the committee.

The Heritage Room Hours are as follows:October to AprilTuesdays - 2:00pm to 4:00pmMay, June, and SeptemberTuesdays - 2:00pm to 4:00pmThursdays – 2:00pm to 4:00pmJuly and AugustTuesdays - 2:00pm to 4:00pmThursdays – 2:00pm to 4:00pmSaturdays – 11:00am to 1:00pmOr Open by Appointment:705-389-2842 | edc@township.mckellar.on.ca